For years I’ve watched the satellite restaurants around the Short Pump Regal Cinemas turnstile through a variety of different restaurant concepts. Many have entered, most have failed. While a few manage to find their footing, the spot to the left of the movie theater at 11636 West Broad Street has been a graveyard of shut-down restaurant ideas. One would think it would last: it’s in a prime location right next to a high-traffic anchor. What’s more classic than dinner and a movie on a Friday night, right? But this particular spot, unlike Yaya’s Cookbook which has managed to find its footing across the way, is cramped into the corner with a presumably expensive overhead as a consequence of its prime location. A business major’s case study in a restaurant doomed to fail.
I won’t take us through a moratorium of the restaurants that have come before it. Today’s review is about the concept that occupies that space now—the most recent attempt to make it work. And, by any grace of God, it would be great to see Indian Aroma persevere. Coming from a restaurant group responsible for a few Indian cuisine restaurants south of the river, there is hope here.
The dining room of Indian Aroma immediately greets you upon walking in (such is the nature of the floor plan of the space). Its striking what they’ve been able to do with the place. The décor is upscale, beautifully arranged with dark wood tabletops and eggshell chairs. A long booth lines the entire back wall of the restaurant, creating an intimate atmosphere where everything feels contained and close. I found myself in the restaurant while the sun was still setting, but I can imagine the restaurant would be very inviting for a nighttime candlelit meal.
I’m seated with haste and brought a bulky dual-sided laminated menu. This is a touchpoint for where this review will go: the food is excellent; the service is excellent, but some operational decisions do not align with the vibe of the restaurant. This is one of those times. Condense the menu into a book. Having to flip back and forth with a gigantic, laminated menu made me feel like I was in a Denny’s. I’m not railing against the practice of a bulky menu and I’m not even saying the menu was too long (hence Denny’s, not Cheesecake Factory), but it felt dissonant to the upscale vibes to have to wield a floppy menu that size.
Like I said, the service was great. Waters were refilled consistently. The pace of the meal was set just right, so that I could enjoy my appetizers without fear of the entrée disrupting. The waiter was personable. We spent a few moments chatting about the new restaurant and the movie I had just seen. And he knew exactly when to make his exit to continue serving the other guests and let me return back to my meal. No complaints on the service.
I ordered samosas and Madras fried shrimp for appetizers. Both were exceptional. I intended to leave some leftover to pack up for later, but they were so good that they disappeared right before my eyes. The samosas were crispy on the outside and stuffed with a rich filling of potatoes and peas and a smoky heat from the blend of spices that lingered delicately on my tongue even after I had finished off the last bit of the samosas.
The fried shrimp was arguably the highlight of the meal. It was tossed in peppers and onions and lightly coated in a luxuriant curry marinade. The shrimp appeared to be grilled as it was nicely charred on the tail. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that “fried” in the South Indian tradition potentially points more towards grilled, especially in a tandoori oven. I suspect that might have been the case here. The shrimp were large and meaty, albeit maybe slightly overcooked—I’m talking maybe thirty seconds at most. Still, the combination of all the elements of the dish were enough to make it incredibly delicious and something I would insist upon as a must for the table if I find myself back.
For my entrée, I ordered the Chicken Chettinad—choosing to stay in South India for the rest of my meal (samosas broke that trend already, but who cares). I also ordered a side of garlic naan. I think we got our wires crossed on the order, because I ended up with an absurd amount of naan. I’m pretty sure I received two orders. The naan was largely a bit too thin and crunchy for my tastes. I prefer a naan with a little more heft to it—pillowy, chewy. But extra naan is extra naan.
The chicken chettinad was an interesting adventure. I had debated between a few different options, such as the saag and the vindaloo but wanted to try something a little bit different than my normal go-to orders. The sauce was well-prepared and layered with the right amount of heat: not overbearing, but certainly not a beginner’s challenge either. I got a lot of notes of ginger in it, but there was a tapestry of other spices, bloomed in the cooking process that released a more complex layer of tastes.
Obviously the more traditional notes of cumin and turmeric and coriander are present, but I think I’d have to return to try a few other options to really get a full breadth of how good the chicken chettinad sauce was. I will say, though, anything that stops me in my tracks and gets me to contemplate the individual arrangement of the notes of a dish is something worth paying attention to.
The chicken by the way was succulent. Fork tender.
With the food behind me, it’s time for my final note of the dining experience at Indian Aroma. I hate to end it on a negative note, but it happened at the end of the meal, and such is the case in a chronological review.
Remember: this experience has been set up to seem upscale to the diners. The décor is beautifully arranged. The wait staff is dressed professionally and tidied up. The restaurant is clean and orderly. So, when I ask to have my food boxed up, I do expect the restaurant to take my meal from me and go box it up and return it back to me. Instead, what Indian Aroma did was leave me to my own devices to scrape the leftovers into a Styrofoam container with all my glasses and dishes cluttered around the table. It was clumsy and didn’t really fit the vibe. Anticipate the needs of your diners and remove the friction from their experience.
Side note: Styrofoam is already being phased out legislatively in Virginia restaurants with part of the law taking effect on chains that started in July 2025 and will expand to all restaurants in July 2026. I only say that because while I don’t care all that much that I was given Styrofoam, I probably would have preferred something a bit more sturdy.
With all that said, that is not enough to mar the experience. The food was delicious. The service was great. My complaints are nitpicky and could be easy areas of improvement.
Indian Aroma offers a very convenient local option to couple with a date night at the movie theater. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also quite good. They’ve only been open for a few months, but I hope people explore their curiosities and give this place a chance. If they do, it might just have what it takes to stick around once and for all.